Discovery Of High Rate Of Pediatric Complicated Idiopathic Gallstone Disease

Main Category: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  MRI / PET / Ultrasound;  Genetics
Article Date: 01 May 2008 - 3:00 PST

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The prevalence of gallstones in adults of industrialized countries is approximately 10% and is showing a tendency to rise. Data for pediatric patients is scarce.

A research article published on March 14, 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this problem. The team lead by Dr. Denise Herzog from Sainte Justine Hospital, University of Montreal, Canada, has reviewed the rate of gallstone disease and its mode of presentation in pediatric patients requiring abdominal ultrasound at Sainte Justine Hospital between 2003 and 2005.

According to their results, idiopathic gallstone disease and complicated disease presentation were much more frequent than expected from previous studies, and it presented as complicated disease in 58% of patients, especially in adolescent girls.

The authors recommend that pediatricians become more aware of this disease, which until now was associated with adult patients only. In the light of the recent detection of the human Lith gene ABCG5/G8 and its association with the risk of cholesterol gallstone formation, the value of genetic evaluations of such families in order to prevent complicated disease presentation should be discussed. Further epidemiological data is required to decide whether genetic screening of families will help to prevent complicated disease presentation.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Reference: Herzog D, Bouchard G. High rate of complicated idiopathic gallstone disease in pediatric patients of a North American tertiary care center. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(10): 1544-1548 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/1544.asp

Correspondence to: Denise Herzog, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Saint Justine Hospital, 3175, Cote Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection for providing a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. The WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

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Source: Jing Zhu
World Journal of Gastroenterology